1. Field of the Invention
The present embodiments are directed to the field of manufacturing line conveyors. The present embodiments have particular applicability to the field of automated manufacturing line conveyors that suitably position an article of manufacture for an operation by a manufacturing associate.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional manufacturing assembly line process, an article of manufacture is transported down a conveyor line having a number of workstations where various operations are performed by associates. Typically, the article is maintained at a stationary height with respect to the assembly line floor, and an associate performs the specific operation for that workstation.
However, sometimes the article is large or may required operations to be performed on the top and bottom of the article. In these situations, the associate must work in awkward positions, e.g. reaching or bending over or stretching to one side.
Various attempts have been made to address these problems. For example, it has been previously contemplated to place specially designed platforms at each workstation, to enable each associate to step up to a height suitable for the operation at that workstation. However, this requires a significant amount of customization for each workstation, which would have a negative impact on efficiency.
Such special platforms may alleviate problems during the manufacturing operation, but they also create a problem for part retrieval. Parts to be added to an article are typically kept on standard-type shelves along the manufacturing line. While standing on a platform, an associate would be higher than the parts shelf, requiring the associate to bend or stretch to retrieve a part. In this way, such special platforms solve one problem but create another.
To overcome this problem, it has been contemplated to use a number of different conveyor systems for the manufacturing line, where each conveyor system retains the article at a different height, so that operations of a comparable height can be performed on the same line. However, having multiple conveyors reduces efficiency, since each system must be separately installed and maintained. Further, the articles of manufacture must be changed out from each conveyor onto the next, requiring additional time and considerable handling of the article. This further reduces the efficiency of the manufacturing line.
It has previously been known to have a conveyor system capable of raising and lowering an article to fixed heights at fixed positions along a manufacturing line. For example, it was known to run a support platform down a track with vertical curves, so as to raise and lower the height of the platform. Also, it was known to use cam structures and complex gearbox arrangements in order to effect vertical displacement variations. Further, it was known to use a “scissors lift” device on a conveyor line for raising and lowering. However, the devices obtained height variations by inflexible hardware configurations. Such configurations were complex and costly and required major modifications to change. As such, these types of conveyors could only accommodate one type of product and lacked the flexibility to be used in a manufacturing environment where a number of different product model types are created on the same manufacturing line. Also, these previous-type devices had a large physical footprint, making it difficult for associates on a manufacturing line to work on all sides.